A woman working for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was randomly attacked on the street by a stranger who slipped behind her and hit her on the head with a brick.
The 51-year-old staff, identified as Lisa Cavanaugh, was attacked from behind on Thursday afternoon in Midtown Manhattan, on Third Avenue, between 47th and 48th Streets.
The attack took place in broad daylight, around 2 p.m., near Senator Chuck Schumer’s Midtown offices.
Cavanaugh works as a recruiting and appointing officer for Governor Cuomo.
Lisa Cavanaugh was attacked from behind in Midtown on Third Avenue between 47th and 48th Streets after being thrown a brick while walking down the street on Thursday.
The man is wanted in connection with an attack on a woman who was hit in the head with a brick while walking near the Grand Central Terminal on Thursday afternoon.
The 51-year-old woman was hit with a brick near Third Avenue and East 48th Street around 2:15 p.m.
The suspect said nothing before or after the attack. The brick can be seen lying on the ground on the left
Police say no words were exchanged between the couples before the unprovoked attack. The suspect slipped behind her, according to the Daily News.
The victim was taken to hospital in a stable condition.
Cavanaugh remained conscious, but needed stitches at Bellevue Hospital to sew a cut on his head.
Police say they are still looking for a suspect. No arrests were made.
The accidental attack comes amid an increase in crime in New York, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The latest crime report shows that, although the attacks in November were 5.2% lower than in November 2019, shootings and crimes are on the rise.
The brick was considerable and aimed directly at the woman, a staff member of Governor Andrew Cuomo
The area where the attack took place was removed while police were investigating the crime
The man fled the scene. Officers launched a search in the surrounding area and in the transit center
The attack took place in the middle of the day during what is normally a crowded part of the city.
Shooting incidents around the world in the first 11 months of 2020 have risen to levels not seen in years, the NYPD said.
Twenty-eight people were killed in the five neighborhoods last month – five more than were killed in November last year.
This year also saw a 38.4% increase in the number of victims killed in New York compared to last year.
Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters at his city hall session earlier this month that this year’s rise in violent crime could be set on an “absolute perfect storm” that hit New York this year.
Crime rates have risen in New York over the past 11 months amid the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19, which has also affected its police. While the attacks in November were 5.2% lower than in November 2019, shootings and crimes are on the rise
“You can’t combine a massive health crisis, tens of thousands of people are dying, hospitals are overwhelmed, the economy is closed, schools are closed, houses of worship are closed, society has no normal anchors at once, a social justice crisis …” he said Mayor.
“Come on, it doesn’t look like anything we’ve seen in our history, and I don’t think we like anything we see again in our lives.”
New York Police Department Commissioner Dermot Shea blames the state’s new bail reform.
New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea says the city is on track to set a 14-year record for most gun violence incidents in a single year
Shea, New York’s top police officer, told NY1, “We’ve done an astonishing number of gun arrests, taking guns from the streets from criminals, doing so almost always without firing.”
Shea added: “But when you look at it three days later, four days later, those individuals are back on the streets committing more gun violence.”
Shea argued that progressive policies that encourage criminal justice reform make the city more dangerous.
“Until we reach this realization as a society – is that what we want?” he said.
It is good to have philosophical discussions about “the end of mass incarceration” and “the end of incarceration”, but you do not want to do it by turning the innocent public into prisons in their own apartments and houses.